Research

Using data-driven scientific analysis, we strive to better understand how elections function in the U.S. Here we provide a guide to core research by MEDSL and others in this area.

Projects

A close up of the word TRUST written in gothic serif font on a brown piece of paper.
New Research
Results that Matter: Building Trust in Elections
Equipping election officials with resources and information to build trust among the electorate and bolster trustworthy practices.
A room full of election workers processing ballots.
Election Analysis
Elections Performance Central
Through academic research, the Stanford-MIT Elections Performance Central project aims to address the challenges facing American election administration in 2024, and promote best practices to ensure American elections can proceed with integrity and equal access.
A woman of color, wearing a mask, jacket, and jeans, stands at a voting booth and fills out her ballot.
Elections in the Pandemic
Stanford-MIT Healthy Elections Project
The Stanford-MIT Healthy Elections Project was developed to ensure that the 2020 election could proceed with integrity, safety, and equal access.
Mathematical tools, including a compass, a protractor, and a compass, lie on a wooden table on top of paper maps.
Mapping Election Administration + Election Science
Assessing the current state of knowledge and practice in election administration.
Someone holds an American flag with an "I voted" sticker on it, and an envelope for an absentee ballot
Election Science: Convergence Accelerator Workshop
Election Science: Convergence Accelerator Workshop
Working to understand and build confidence in the outcomes of US elections.
Evolving Election Administration Landscape
Learning from Elections
Working to provide data-driven recommendations to make elections more convenient, secure, transparent, and cost effective.
A stack of hardcover books rests on a table, the spines facing to the left.
Grants
New Initiatives in Election Science
The MIT Election Data and Science Lab ran the New Initiatives in Election Science Grants from 2017-19 to encourage new approaches to the scientific study of elections and election reform.
A table is covered in colored pens and markers. Three students are looking at notebooks and papers spread out in front of them. One student on the left is pointing to a point on a map in front of them with a highlighter.
Syllabuses for Election Science
Deepening the Field of Election Science
A database of resources for people who teach election science classes, including syllabi and other teaching aids.
Map showing the six Great Lakes States
Election Landscapes
State Election Landscapes: The Great Lakes States
State Election Landscapes provides a comprehensive overview of how elections are conducted in the six Great Lakes States: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin.
Logo showing the Caltech/VTP Voting Technology Project name and logo, a red check on a blue field, circled by white stars
Deepening Scientific Research
Caltech/MIT Voting Technology Project
The Voting Technology Project was established by Caltech President David Baltimore and MIT President Charles Vest in December 2000 to prevent a recurrence of the problems that threatened the 2000 U.S. Presidential Election.
External Resources
Presidential Commission on Election Administration (Mirror Website)
For those looking for the website of the Presidential Commission on Election Administration, we maintain a mirror site to archive its information online.
Studying Voters' Experiences
Survey of the Performance of American Elections
The Survey of the Performance of American Elections is the only national survey of registered voters that is focused on understanding the voting process from the perspective of the voter. It was begun in 2008 and repeated in 2012, 2014, 2016, and 2020. Access the dataset and latest reports here.
A handheld American flag is held in front of the camera. Slightly blurred in the background, we can see a man in a brown jacket with a white collar who is wearing a mask over his nose and mouth.
Evaluating U.S. Elections
Elections Performance Index
The Elections Performance Index is the premier assessment tool to evaluate election administration across the nation. It allows viewers to compare election administration policy and performance across states and from one election cycle to the next. The current index is based on the U.S. presidential and mid-term elections ranging from 2008–2022.